This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Joe Fresh goes to the mall

Joe Fresh launch of its first stand-alone store on Granville St. in Vancouver in October, 2010. (Supplied Photo)

By Dana FlavelleBusiness Reporter

Wed., Jan. 19, 2011

Clothing retailer Joe Fresh says it’s planning to open 20 stand-alone stores in Canada, including its first mall-based locations.

The brand, which is currently sold through Loblaw Cos. Ltd. superstores, said it will open four such stores this year, including three in the Greater Toronto Area.

The company defined “stand-alone” as stores that are not within or adjacent to a Loblaw store.

“We are excited to be able to reach many more of our loyal Joe Fresh customers in these great locations,” said Mimran of Joseph Mimran & Associates, creative director, apparel, home and entertainment for Loblaw Cos. Ltd.

The retailer also plans to open two smaller “studio” stores in downtown Toronto, including one in Maple Leaf Gardens, later this year.

Article Continued Below

The moves come amid unconfirmed reports Mimran is also scouting a location in Manhattan. Reported by bloggers on both sides of the border, it has so far been denied by the company.

Mimran previously built the Club Monaco chain into a cross-border retail powerhouse. The chain was subsequently bought out by the Ralph Lauren Co.

Mimran went on to create the Joe Fresh brand for Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in 2006. The line includes clothing, footwear and cosmetics.

In addition to broadening its reach beyond mainly suburban supermarkets, the creation of stand-alone Joe Fresh stores will help raise the brand’s profile while also testing its ability to compete directly with other similar low-price, fashion-forward retailers, industry experts said.

“It will add to their brand cachet,” said Kaileen Millard-Ruff, vice-president retail, for market research firm Synovate Canada. “Other brands, like Nike, Hanes and Levis, found by opening their own stores, they could build brand loyalty.”

By initially locating in Loblaw stores, Joe Fresh was able to expand quickly across Canada and gain frequent exposure to consumers, noted Richard Talbot, president and chief executive officer of Talbot Consultants International Inc.

“When you’re co-located in a food store people are coming in on a regular basis, 1.8 times a week in Canada on average,” Talbot noted.

The low-priced brand is now one of the largest in Canada in terms of unit sales. But Talbot said it’s unclear whether that’s because the brand is popular or because it’s carried by the biggest supermarket chain in the country.

“Once you’re in a mall and competing directly with other fashion stores, that’s a whole different thing,” he said, noting malls are now dominated by stores that design, make and sell low-priced merchandise.

The first mall-based Joe Fresh store will open in late March in Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga.

It will be followed by one in Bramalea City Centre in mid April, one in Vaughan Mills in late May, along with one in CrossIron Mills, in Rocky View, just north of Calgary, in early May.

The studio stores, which are located immediately beside or below a Loblaw store, will be in Maple Leaf Gardens and at Queen and Portland Sts.

The move follows the successful launch of its first stand-alone store on Granville St., in Vancouver, last October, the company said.

To oversee the development and growth of the new stores, Joe Fresh recently named Lucy Van Der Wal as senior vice-president. Van Der Wal was previously head of H&M Canada, a Swedish owned global brand that like Joe Fresh is vertically integrated.

The stand-alone stores will be owned by Loblaw Cos. Ltd., a spokesperson said.

The company has high hopes for the brand, at one point saying it could reach $1 billion in sales within two to three years.

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com